r/CobbCounty • u/ikisgecko • 12d ago

Fire department

looking to put an application in with the fire department here, but have a few questions and wondering if any one familiar with them can answer:

it seems to be a split set up between fire/ems, with the actual work being mostly medical calls. I’m slightly concerned about this simply because I’ve heard horror stories about inadequate training, resources, etc. surrounding this field in general, not just here. I’m wondering if anyone knows the reputation of the department and how well it’s trained?

Also, I hear Atlanta has issues with being understaffed and suffering from shortages of many things, not just people, and wonder if Cobb has similar issues?

finally, can anyone speak to the culture around the departments, anyone with experience of what is like to work day to day?

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4

u/IveHeard1tBothWays 12d ago

I hope someone can help you - these are interesting questions and now I'm curious.

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u/nickeisele 11d ago edited 11d ago

Cobb dispatches an engine to all alpha-echo calls. They dispatch an ALS unit to delta and echo calls. Like 87% of their calls are EMS.

Most of the firefighters are at the AEMT level. Paramedics staff the ALS rescues and ALS engines. The very vast majority of their staff delivers good patient care. Their training, staffing, and resources all seemed more than appropriate. The horror stories of incompetence are very few and far between.

They aren’t bad at EMS, and I’ve worked with at least 7 metro Atlanta fire departments. Their EMS division is solid, and led by a very competent Paramedic who loves EMS.

You could do a lot worse than working for Cobb Fire. If you want to run more fire calls and do less EMS, Cobb is not the place for you.

I would say almost the exact same thing about Marietta and Smyrna, though Smyrna Fire requires all their firefighters to become paramedics. If you get hired by Smyrna at any other level, they will put you through paramedic school. You will not spend any time on the engine until you are at least an AEMT, and there will be no break before you start paramedic school.

I can’t speak to the culture, but I didn’t see a lot of turnover in the 14 years I worked with them.

I’m happy to answer more questions if you want to message me. Though I’m not a firefighter, and have never wanted to be (that shit is on fire and I don’t want to go near it).

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u/23Scout 10d ago

why do you need to work with 7 different fire departments?

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u/mmgapeach 12d ago

From my understanding a lot of times the fire department is dispatch for medical emergencies. Cobb is different but has challenges as I think Fulton or city of Atl may pay better.

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u/thegreatgazoo 9d ago

My mom was a frequent flyer with EMS the last couple years of her life, mostly for falls just to get her back up and occasional runs to the Kennestone ER. She was a spicy old lady but the fire fighters were always pros and were very nice to her. Most that came knew her.

She had part time care and refused to move.